Page 21 of Bloody Bones
Tommy
The corridor we teleported into was wide, with thick carpet under our feet and opulent if a little faded wallpaper on the walls. I had expected some kind of warehouse but it looked like a mansion. With my hand still firmly curled around the woman's arms, I pulled her to a stop.
“This is the right place?” I searched her face for any lie and came back blank. She was telling me the truth.
Her thin lips curled up into a sneer. “Of course it's the right place. Blue brought us here didn't he?” She tried to yank her arm out of my grasp and I tightened my grip. The last thing I wanted was for her to get loose and run off to warn this Acco that we were there. I didn't know anything about him but Raze seemed to be wary of him which meant he was powerful.
We had to keep the element of surprise on our side.
“Blue is a coward,” she continued, and behind her, Blue murmured his agreement. Which surprised me. “He wouldn't lie to you. He is too afraid of what you would do to him.”
Her words made my eyebrows shoot up. “And you're not?”
She looked at me blankly.
“Afraid of what I will do to you?” I finished.
She shrugged. “You look like a monster, but you're not.”
I waited silently for her to continue; the only noise was the sound of our breathing. “I'm not?” I asked when the silence had stretched on too long.
“No,” she shook her head. “The real monsters don't try to rescue people. You look like one, but you're not. Somewhere in you there is a heart and a conscience. Now Acco.” She gave a nervous laugh. “He is beautiful to look at, like an angel if you can get past the eyes and the forked tongue, but he doesn't have a nice bone in his body. Not one single one. So to answer your question, no I am not afraid of you Bloody Bones. I am terrified of him though and what he will do to me when he finds out I double crossed him.”
I blinked at her in surprise. Behind me I felt rather than saw Raze shift uncomfortably. I was suddenly uncomfortable as well. The walls seemed to close in around us.
“Then why did you?”
Throwing back her head, she laughed. A loud booming sound that seemed to echo off the walls. “I didn’t double cross him, I brought him two creatures that will fetch a pretty penny for and one that double crossed him.”
“It’s a fucking trap,” I muttered at the same time as Raze. Blue began to whine like a damn coward.
“Of course it's a trap, do you not think that Acco has prepared for rescue attempts? Granted, they are usually human, but your fate will be the same as theirs. He probably already knows you are here.” She shrugged. “Acco will be pleased with me.”
The woman was mad, absolutely stark raving mad. She was either so far under my dark cousin's spell or totally and hopelessly in love with him. And I didn't know which one was worse. Either way, it made her incredibly dangerous.
“I can guarantee he won't be.” Raze growled.
I threw him a look over my shoulder, my eyes as serious as my face. “Stay alert. And keep hold of Blue. We’ll need him if we are to get a shortcut out of here.”
He nodded once, his legs already half bent into a fighting stance. Raze would have my back, he always did.
“Which way?” I turned my attention to the woman at my side.
She laughed again, louder this time and Raze growled. “You need to shut her the fuck up before someone hears her.”
“You're a fool if you think he doesn't know you are already here.” She retorted. Her eyes scanned him with disdain.
“And you’re a fool if you think I won’t rip your fucking throat out,” he countered. “Tommy might not be a monster, but believe me, sweetheart, I am.”
Shaking my head, I dragged her in front of me, my grip on her arm cruel. It would leave marks. Normally that would bother me, but it didn't this time. She deserved so much more than a few bruises. Yanking the bandana from around my neck I balled it up in my fist. “If you aren't going to be helpful then you will be quiet,” I warned. The look she gave me in return was full of loathing, but when she opened her mouth to speak, I didn’t let her get a sound out. I rammed the balled up material between her open lips, silencing her.
“That's better.” Turning my attention from her, I rounded on Raze. “Can you find where we need to go?”
He was our only option now, and I had no doubt that his enhanced wolf senses would be more than up for the job.
“The whole place stinks of desperation and fear,” he muttered. His face screwed up as he tried to make sense of the myriad of smells assaulting his sensitive nose. “And shit,” he grumbled.
“Concentrate. I just need to know which way.” I had powers, many of them, some that I hadn't used in hundreds of years, but I was absolutely no good at tracking. Fear was where my powers lay. That would come in handy later, but it was useless now.
